How boring are those curling stones matches at the winter olympic ?

[Peter]

*******s - I should have used part of Danny's speech for my end of Romanticism waffle. The greatest era in the history of humanity is over etc.

But while coke has inspired some {though far from all} of the greatest albums of all time, opiates write better lyrics.

Loss of ego, giving yourself up to the Divine.

And musically, compare Golden Brown with any of the songs specifically about cocaine you care to name.

But Kubla Khan is gorgeous. The 3 sections - the trip, the little bit after his trip had been interrupted for an hour and the vision has mostly dissolved. Then the rest, written years later when he'd realised that no matter how much opium he boshed God was never gona give him the rest of that poem again.

Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,*
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.



- *i.e. with my words, my poetry, I would create something as beautiful as KK's pleasure dome

See, I like it. I get it. I see it. And you can draw a direct line to the poetry of Oscar Wilde, Rupert Brooke, and on to Morrisey

But it doesn't move me the way Leonard Cohen does.

My failing, perhaps. But I can live with it

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

See, I like it. I get it. I see it. And you can draw a direct line to the poetry of Oscar Wilde, Rupert Brooke, and on to Morrisey

But it doesn't move me the way Leonard Cohen does.

My failing, perhaps. But I can live with it

Oh, come on, it's personal.

We all have fave songs on an album, fave album by band X, fave band, fave artform etc.

You don't have to choose between Byron and Bronte and Delacroix and Van Gogh and Shaw and Wilde and Sassoon and Brooke and Cohen and the Beatles and the Pistols and free raves.

The whole point is, as you say, the direct line that connects them all.

That, and that it's over.

That was the point I had unintentionally found myself making last week and it seems you now agree. So get yourself a drink, try to switch off your Scharma's a bit of a mincer prism, and watch those docs. Joins the dots to the modern world. Draws the direct line to use your words.

If Romanticism is a diamond, it doesn't matter what your favourite facet is as long as well all agree that it's the same diamond and it's beautiful.

And that there will never be another diamond because modern, fake, compressed carbon digital diamonds have taken over, and soon, you won't even see them, just an AI image of a diamond on yet another ****ing screen.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

They ruined Appetite for Destruction as well.

And I can remember the first time I was in a record shop and saw a copy of New Mind The *******s on CD. It looked ridiculous.

Still, these kids were never going to understand it anyway. **** them. At least I know what it all means, and I wont forget.

QED.

As a Romantic, the first hint of its ending, with digital music, even though those CDs were our fave ever bands, make the hair on the back of your neck stand up cos you subconsciously knew something was wrong.

As I say, QED.

[Peter]

Oh, come on, it's personal.

We all have fave songs on an album, fave album by band X, fave band, fave artform etc.

You don't have to choose between Byron and Bronte and Delacroix and Van Gogh and Shaw and Wilde and Sassoon and Brooke and Cohen and the Beatles and the Pistols and free raves.

The whole point is, as you say, the direct line that connects them all.

That, and that it's over.

That was the point I had unintentionally found myself making last week and it seems you now agree. So get yourself a drink, try to switch off your Scharma's a bit of a mincer prism, and watch those docs. Joins the dots to the modern world. Draws the direct line to use your words.

If Romanticism is a diamond, it doesn't matter what your favourite facet is as long as well all agree that it's the same diamond and it's beautiful.

And that there will never be another diamond because modern, fake, compressed carbon digital diamonds have taken over, and soon, you won't even see them, just an AI image of a diamond on yet another ****ing screen.

My sister has tried for years. With Coleridge, Byron, Shakespeare, Shelley, Hardy.... she's given up

I mean, it's alright.... but its no Dance Me to The End of Love, is it......

I see the line, I dont dispute it. But I chose my edge of the diamond a long time ago. I'm not going to change it now.

[redgunamo]

My sister has tried for years. With Coleridge, Byron, Shakespeare, Shelley, Hardy.... she's given up

I mean, it's alright.... but its no Dance Me to The End of Love, is it......

I see the line, I dont dispute it. But I chose my edge of the diamond a long time ago. I'm not going to change it now.

Should have gotten into Iron Maiden; they check all of those. Plus Burns, Tennyson and Marvell. Frank Herbert, Huxley, Golding, Orson Scott Card, too many to mention really. UTI.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

My sister has tried for years. With Coleridge, Byron, Shakespeare, Shelley, Hardy.... she's given up

I mean, it's alright.... but its no Dance Me to The End of Love, is it......

I see the line, I dont dispute it. But I chose my edge of the diamond a long time ago. I'm not going to change it now.

Oh, I wouldn't expect you to.

Which facet we like best is subjective. But I objectively believe we are all part of that diamond that's been built since thee 1780s and is being killed by the digital revolution.

Do you really not "get" Shelley's Ozymandias?

Indeed, as with Kipling's Recessional - on dune and headland sink the fire / lo, all our pomp of yesterday / is one with Nineveh and Tyre - you could say Ozymandias now applies to the death of our Romantic diamond.

.... And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

[Peter]

Oh, I wouldn't expect you to.

Which facet we like best is subjective. But I objectively believe we are all part of that diamond that's been built since thee 1780s and is being killed by the digital revolution.

Do you really not "get" Shelley's Ozymandias?

Indeed, as with Kipling's Recessional - on dune and headland sink the fire / lo, all our pomp of yesterday / is one with Nineveh and Tyre - you could say Ozymandias now applies to the death of our Romantic diamond.

.... And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

It just doesn't move in me.

The declaration of independence is the better read. Now that is romantic

[Peter]

Should have gotten into Iron Maiden; they check all of those. Plus Burns, Tennyson and Marvell. Frank Herbert, Huxley, Golding, Orson Scott Card, too many to mention really. UTI.

My sister loves them.

I once saw a band in the pub called Wooden Maiden, who did acoustic covers of Maiden songs. It was far, far better than it sounds

[redgunamo]

It just doesn't move in me.

The declaration of independence is the better read. Now that is romantic

lol. Harsh but fair. It is Americans, after all.

[redgunamo]

My sister loves them.

I once saw a band in the pub called Wooden Maiden, who did acoustic covers of Maiden songs. It was far, far better than it sounds

I've heard of them. Didn't know they were a tribute act though, mostly original stuff.

[Peter]

I've heard of them. Didn't know they were a tribute act though, mostly original stuff.

Nice guys. They did a few of their own songs as well.

Later that evening some woman started doing acoustic versions of Tiffany songs. Turned out it was Tiffany

[Peter]

lol. Harsh but fair. It is Americans, after all.

They dont get enough credit for it. It is a majestic read

[redgunamo]

Nice guys. They did a few of their own songs as well.

Later that evening some woman started doing acoustic versions of Tiffany songs. Turned out it was Tiffany

That must've come as a bit of an unwelcome surprise.

[Peter]

That must've come as a bit of an unwelcome surprise.

It was of little importance to me (I'd had a few, like) but my friends seemed quite excited. There were selfies etc.

I was hanging with the Maiden guys, hearing about their plans for an acoustic reworking of The Trooper

[redgunamo]

They dont get enough credit for it. It is a majestic read

Trouble is they don't want war, anyway not on their own turf and between their own peoples. Whereas everyone in the Old World knows this sort of thing is both inevitable and desirable and it's silly, pointless and naive trying to avoid it. It's how a nation refreshes itself. As dear old Fat Pete Clemenza explains, every once in a while you need a war, to get rid of the bad blood.

"Bad blood" here having the meaning bad vibes, bad feelings and bad people with bad genes; degenerates. My wife clarified that last bit to me. German, see. I had had no idea